It is 2012 and tens of thousands of drivers sit in driver orientations every week. Most all of these drivers have one thing in common. They are either not getting enough miles to make any money or they can never get back home to rest and see their families.

Trucking looks to be a very greedy business from the inside where drivers are just pawns in a game played by business planners. The majority of OTR drivers today are dingy, depressed, don't trust anybody and just plain tired of being tired and disadvantaged.

The face of a driver today shows miles that were not put there by the road they have traveled but by the obstacles placed in front of them by the very people they work for. Few OTR drivers today find any peace, solitude or trust with their employer. Drivers are talked to like children or even worse. Most carriers seem to have lost the ability to motivate their drivers to get a job done and instead use the proverbial whip to reach their goal, driver be damned.

The FMCSA is responsible for letting trucking get into the shape it is in today. CSA was their answer to again gain control of the trucking industry. It just so happens that CSA starts by putting even more pressure on the over pressured drivers so they can get to their carriers.

Trucking does not need a tune-up; it needs a complete overhaul. Drivers need to earn a better income and drivers need to be worthy of the income they will be paid. Trucking should be a level playing field and not a crapshoot for drivers and their families. The price of shipping should support the change, not carrier profits. That is the only manner that will allow this industry to make any changes.

Still I have seen livestock treated better than some drivers today and that is a very sad thing to say about any industry or management in the United States of America. We can and should make it a priority to do better. If you are looking down your nose at drivers then you are part of the problem. Become a part of the solution and be a better person for it.